Beneath Perfection
by Blair Belmonte
Summary: Starfleet was supposed to be a fresh start for them and to do so they must confront their past, their losses, and the lies they've told. The born leader, the brilliant doctor, and the sharp-witted strategist must prove themselves as their adventures begin.
1. Ghost

**1 |** _Ghost_

 **Everyone knew her name,** Rosalind Davis, but no one had seen her. She was almost mythical. Perhaps a rumor started by the instructors to whip up the newer cadets into being more competitive. Rosalind Davis was the ideal cadet and could do no wrong said the walls if you listened closely. She was a person heard of rather than seen. Some doubted if she even existed.

James Kirk was close to finding out, he could feel it. He had a shiny new uniform and a spirit that refused to be knocked down. He was also determined to make a name for himself instead of having his father brought up and be given looks of pity, or worse, jealousy. Other cadets thought that the higher ups had some strings pulled, put in him the Command School and made him the highest ranked recruit in one fell swoop. The last two he did all by himself and he was pretty sure the academy's administration wasn't exactly pleased with him anyways.

He had arrived at Starfleet Academy with a reputation; a bar-brawler that had landed himself on the wrong side of the law too many times to count. It was true though it made him an easy target to push around but he wouldn't let them. A sort of popularity contest had taken a hold of the academy and he wasn't even competing. Those that could were throwing their weight around: their egos as high as their academic progress, name dropping their connections in casual conversations, boasting about their promising future careers as if they had already earned them. Thinking it in terms of Starfleet he couldn't have his future crew thinking he had everything handed to him. Thinking about it in his own terms, he wanted to beat them all in their own game.

It was while scouting for his competition that he came upon the name of Rosalind Davis. The person was more elusive though. From what he could gather, she had gained a cult following. Her reputation also built upon rumors. Glimpses of her appeared here and there but he had yet to see her in the flesh.

He directed his natural charms towards the administrative official who held the key information to tracking her down.

He looked at her with his bright eyes and easy smile. "You're sure you can't just check for me?"

"No." She deadpanned.

"It's really just a simple question." He leaned forward on the desk, making the situation seem more casual.

Her response was automated at this point, "Cadet, unless you are an immediate family member, we cannot release any information on any cadet, faculty or administrative member of Starfleet Academy without the individual's express permission."

"Then can you tell me if she's a student here?"

"She is a part of this institution."

"I see," _That was vague as fuck._ "Then is there any way I can contact her?"

"Rosalind Davis has chosen that this institution not share _any_ information without her permission."

Irritated, he blurted out, "I would ask for her permission but I haven't met her."

The official narrowed her eyes, "Cadet, this behavior is highly suspicious."

He stammered under her accusatory gaze, "No, no. I'm not, it's not, I'm not _stalking_ her."

"If you want to meet her so badly ask a friend, someone might be able to introduce you." The official turned away from him, dismissing him by continuing her work.

"That's not…Fine, I'll ask around." As if he hadn't done that already yet no one seemed to give him a straight answer. It's as if everyone knew her and saw her but didn't at the same time. ' _Maybe she is a ghost.'_

He was a bit desperate at this point. Davis had done an excellent job in covering her tracks. All except for one...

He found Leonard McCoy sitting near one of the on-campus' coffee carts enjoying his break. It was one of the few times when the doctor appeared to be a mild-mannered man.

"No luck, huh?" Asked the doctor when he noticed the look of defeat on his friend.

"None." Jim slumped on his chair.

"Checked the yellow pages?" Was Bones sarcastic contribution.

"There are roughly 230 in the San Francisco area alone." Said Jim with all the seriousness of a person who was considering going through those publicly available contacts one by one.

"I've only seen this type of commitment to finding someone from stalkers." He couldn't resist teasing his friend who began to go pink in the cheeks. "Which begs the question, _are_ you stalking this girl?"

"I am not stalking her!3f" He pointed a finger at Bones' face. "You can't tell me that you're not also interested in how a Cadet manages to go basically unseen while simultaneously being top of her class?"

"I am but I also think there's a reason she doesn't want just anyone sticking their nose in her business." Bones would imagine that any sane person wouldn't, though this was James Kirk and there were exceptions to rules.

"So that's a 'no' on doing me a favor?"

"What favor?" Bones had honestly lost count.

"Check the medical records."

"No." He wasn't surprised that he would ask again.

"Oh, come on. It's not like you'd be telling me her blood type."

"Ask around then, preferably someone who doesn't have to risk their medical license."

"I already did ask around. I've looked everywhere". Jim whined, "C'mon… throw me a bone won't you?"

Jim was apathetic to the icy glare that Bones have given him, initiating a staring match that was broken when Bones sighed and lightly rolled his eyes. This kid didn't know when to quit.

"I already did."

"You did?" Jim moved to the edge of his seat.

"Yes."

"Yes!"

"There are four of them. That should narrow down your search." Bones swiftly swept the rug under him.

"Dammit." He let his head fall onto the table in defeat.

Bones almost laughed right there and then. He was honestly surprised it was taking Jim this long to find Rosalind Davis. She wasn't hiding for one thing.

* * *

 _Each title corresponds to a song. This one belongs to_ _Sir Sly_ _._

 _Yes, I re-published the chapters. I found myself coming back to them and editing them until they weren't just minor changes. I feel confident in these new ones so I hope you like them. Feedback is always appreciated, from old and new followers._ — **B.B.**

 _P.S I apologize for the pun …_


	2. Roses

**2 |** _Roses_

 **Somehow, Leonard had met all four** Rosalind Davises through pure coincidence.

The first Rosalind Davis was an assistant instructor for a phaser training course. It was required that all Starfleet personnel became familiar with the standard weapon for emergency purposes though he knew he'd never touch one again. It was a short and quick class where they barely interacted. He only remembers her because she shares her name with three other women.

The second and third Rosalinds were friends that had joined Starfleet together. They became known in the Engineering College after they had "fixed" a malfunctioning replicator that then would only give out orange juice when ordering a drink. Some would walk all the way to the other college's mess halls. It then prompted others to offer orange juice to engineers as a joke. It took them several weeks to sort out the problem.

The fourth and final was Rosalind H. Davis. Out of all the other Roses he had met, she was the one that stuck out. She was a tactical officer, every now and then visiting the student clinic with fellow cadets in tow or for minor injuries she'd sustained during training. She could be found in the basketball court, Leonard watching her play a game once in a while, but mostly she sat in the sidelines to watch. She also frequented the places where he studied such as the library and near the coffee carts scattered around campus. They had attended some of the same lectures too.

They were a coincidence just waiting to happen.

Actually, Leonard met her because of an accident.

He had planned on spending part of the afternoon in the basketball court having picked up the sport again. He needed a way to clear his head and to allow his mind to wander without having his body do the same.

The basketball court was mostly used by the team to practice. In the bleachers people chatted their breaks way and others sat in the side court seats to watch the games. The team that was playing this time was between friends and it had become a heated game for some reason so he decided to wait for them to finish instead of joining in.

He had sat near Rosalind Davis who was going back and forth between watching the game and reading whatever was in her PADD. He was going to do the same, catch up on homework maybe, until something hit him the back of the head _**hard**_ _._

He felt pain but it had gone away as quickly as it came. It was like blinking. When he opened his eyes, he was still in the basketball court with Rosalind Davis still reading her notes.

"You're awake." She said without looking up.

Then he noticed that he was actually in the student clinic, lying down on one of the medbeds.

 _Who is this woman?_

He still asks himself that.

Before he could ask questions, she filled him in. "You hit your head three times; once by a basketball, the second time you lost balance and hit the seat, and then the third time you fell to the floor. You were conscious for a moment but started to speak incoherently and passed out so we brought you here."

"We?" He searched around the room but it was only the two of them.

"The guy that hit you, by _accident_ ," —she used air quotes— "and me who stuck around so I could pass on his apologies for a) hitting you and b) not being able to stay and say it personally."

"Well tell him message received," he snapped at her, "he's an ass."

She glared at him, "I was a bystander, not a messenger. In fact, I did this as a favor to you." He cocked an eyebrow and she continued. "You didn't see him, but I did, and I don't know what kind of person you are but if someone knocks me unconscious and doesn't have the balls to apologize face to face, leaving a stranger to do so, he probably deserves some kind of retribution."

He realized that this woman was just as irritated about the situation as him, perhaps even more despite having a less painful headache to deal with.

"He's an ass," he reminded her, "doesn't mean I have to hunt him down and strangle him."

"You're right," she conceded, "and wrong. See this couldn't have been the first time he harms someone and leaves someone else to clean up his mess. He probably does this all the time. Besides, I didn't mean we go beat him up."

She was offering something but he wasn't even going to guess what it was. He knew trouble when it was standing in front of him.

"I can imagine this was a hassle for you but I'm good. He was just another prick in this big wide galaxy. Can't get too hung up on getting even with all of them."

She pursed her lips, mentally disapproving of his rejection.

"I see, well," she began to gather her things, "you're not dead or in danger of dying, I got you all caught up like I was asked, and it was nice chatting with you" —she hastily shook his hand— "but I have work to do."

She left just as a nurse entered. The nurse looked at the retreating back on the stranger that was probably planning someone's murder.

The next time he saw her was when she sat down in front of him.

"Hello, stranger. Mind if I sit here?" She said this when she had already sat down.

"What are you doing here?" It had been a while since they crossed paths and she obviously wasn't a regular in the Medical College's Mess Hall. He also remembered the look she had on her face the last time he had seen her; with a determined gaze to exact vengeance.

"1 o'clock. The guy who nearly killed you." He looked towards that direction and he continued to describe the man. "He's the tallest at the table and eating green Jell-O."

He was an average guy oblivious to whatever was going to happen to him and probably didn't deserve it. The punishment didn't fit the crime in McCoy's book.

"He didn't kill me."

"Doesn't matter," she waved her hand dismissively, "Like you said, he's a prick."

"Listen, I don't know you or whatever you're about to do. To summarize, keep me out of it." He already had James Kirk to drag him into trouble.

"And as I said, this isn't the first time he leaves strangers to clean up his mess. He's a klutz on purpose."

"How can you be a klutz on purpose?"

"He thinks it's endearing. He was looking at me while playing, I thought it was creepy. When he knocked you out with that basketball—thinking I hadn't seen it was him—he tried to appear as the white knight there to save the day, i.e. help you after injuring you, and then tried to flirt with me." He hadn't processed what she said when she continued to talk. "He flirted while we checked if you were breathing, he flirted as he offered to carry you to the clinic, and then he flirted when he rejected to being a decent human being and staying to see if you were alright."

"Man's a prick."

"Thank you, Dr. Obvious."

"Well you could've told me before y'know."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know if you were in on the whole thing. So, yeah, sorry."

"Apology accepted. So, what are you doing here if you didn't need me?"

"Oh, I did need you." She pointed back towards the man, "I needed to see your reaction to that." In that moment, the man stuck out his tongue and began to fan it. He stood up in a panic, knocking his food onto the table.

"My mouth is on fire?" Confusion turned into panic quickly. "Why mouth on fire?" His friends started to hand him glasses of water and milk which he grabbed and began to drink, the liquids spilling over him.

"Oh, and I wanted to make sure you didn't grab the wrong Jell-O." She grabbed Leonard's green Jell-O and substituted it for her own red Jell-O.

"My name's Rosalind by the way." She said and started to eat her lunch as if she hadn't pulled an impossible prank somehow. "What's yours?"

"Leonard."

* * *

 _This chapter's title song comes from_ _Carly Rae Jepsen_ _. I should explain that some songs have more to do with the overall story than a specific chapter._

 _I was having some trouble with what Rose's first impression should be. I wanted her personality to come out but not all at once. There was also the matter of McCoy and Rose's meeting which I wasn't happy with but published anyways. It took me a while to figure out how a meeting between them would feel while bringing certain elements together._

 _For those of you who read the first version of this chapter, any opinions on the new one? I won't be changing it back though… I prefer this one._ – **B.B.**


	3. Caught

**3 |** _Caught_

 **Rose and Leonard had come to an agreement** that their acquaintanceship remained over the surface of water. It had been a silent agreement too. She wasn't the type to share and he wasn't the type to pry. Leonard didn't mind the arrangement because he wasn't one to share either, especially when recent history was a sensitive subject.

It was this agreement that indicated to him that James Kirk and Rosalind Davis couldn't meet. He had witnessed the aftermath of the ill-received flirtations from undesired men and the state that Rose left them in. Harmless prank for harmless flirtation, public humiliation for invasion of personal space, and a demonstration of basic combat maneuvers for those who didn't speak the language of rejection. He didn't know what reaction she would have to Jim's pursuit of her.

Rose disliked the spotlight that had been placed upon her. The harder you looked for her, the harder she'd make it for you to find her. Half the time Leonard wanted to ask her outright if she knew that James Kirk was searching for her.

She did.

She knew who James Kirk was before he started to look for her. The son of a hero, a prodigy in his own right, a promising cadet if he could discipline himself, and probably awaiting some bigger destiny. She wasn't interested in joined his adventure. The fact that he knew she existed at all meant that he cared about academic rankings. Rose wasn't much for competition, she disliked the idea of having cadets pit themselves against each other as a way to assert their dominance —no sorry, _leadership skills._

Which was a shame since he fancied himself a Captain already from what she could gather. As many rumors as she heard about herself, she also knew what they whispered about James Kirk: _jerk, egotistical, kind, charming, good student, lack of discipline, impulsive and reckless._ It seemed that everyone and their mother had an opinion on who he was.

She could identify with that. Everyone in her college had at least five adjectives they would use to describe her. It took time but she made sure to make it known that she was aware that they talked about her, that she could track the origin of any whisper attached to her name. It made them scared of her but she was tired of being gawked at.

And she was jeopardizing that right now. She was being reckless. _How did she end up on speaking terms with his closest friend?_

"Wait, you're _the_ Doctor McCoy?"

He didn't know why she sounded so surprised.

"You've heard about me?"

Leonard McCoy was known around the academy more for his bedside manner than his skills as a doctor. "Only go to McCoy if you want to come back from the dead, anything less isn't worth the attitude." She quoted. "You've gained a reputation for your bedside manner, Nightingale."

"Can't be that bad. I still get the occasional genius that tries to modify a phaser and it ends up blowing in their faces."

"Still, it's not all bad. Unless you're not actually the reincarnation of Hippocrates." Leonard hadn't thought much about smart he was aside from knowing he was a damn good doctor. Though, he had tested out off so many courses he could almost scrape off an entire year.

"They're actually saying that?"

Rose smiled in response, "No. You were just a big catch apparently. Something about having 'legendary hands'."

"Yes, that's much better. I prefer to stay humble."

She laughed.

He saw his chance, "So, I have to ask then, are you _the_ Rosalind Davis?"

"Depends. What have you heard?"

"Just that you're a genius... allegedly."

"Allegedly?"

"I haven't seen evidence to the fact. Is it true?"

"I don't know. I think a good portion of Starfleet cadets are geniuses if you think about it so it doesn't really make me special."

"Well you must have done something to get people to start talking about you."

"Yeah, I must have." Her gaze wondered from there. He recognized the signs of someone shutting down a conversation, or at least a topic.

He had almost broken the rule of no sharing, no prying. Sometimes he had half a mind to call Kirk and introduce them. Have him break down her defenses and get her to talk. He also considered being the first to talk about personal things. Still there was little to say aside from a divorce and a kid he missed every day. The rest of his life had only lead up to that.

"Two lattes, McCoy!" Yelled the coffee cart's barista.

When Leonard returned with the lattes, Rose looked in a better mood.

"I know you can't get addicted to coffee anymore but there's something too alluring about it to not go without it in the morning." She said as he handed her over a steaming cup of cappuccino.

"Agreed." He said as they both took a moment to appreciate its inviting smell and proceeded to drink it.

As the semester approached fall and the San Francisco fog became a more frequent sight the two had agreed that morning coffee had to become a daily ritual. The adventurous nature of exploring the universe was being momentarily paused by an appreciation towards mundanity.

He looked at his watch, "I need to get going, my shift starts earlier than usual today."

"Aw, and you still bought me coffee? I'm touched." She truly was but she still overexaggerated her pouting trying to make light of it.

He rolled his eyes at her, "Don't make it a big deal. You always get here late."

"Still, you really should let me pay for coffee once. I feel like I owe you twenty cups by now." It was probably more but he wasn't counting. "Maybe not in the morning but I'm sure we can figure out another time."

"Sounds like you're trying to ask me out on a date." He said jokingly.

Without missing a beat, she responded, "What if I am?"

"There's not a problem with that." Was his careful response.

"Noted." She paused. "Though I'm not asking you on a date, no offence."

"None taken." He said while still processing just the idea of dating again.

"I'll send you the details later." She started to walk away, "Bye, Doc!"

"Bye, Rose." But she was already out of earshot.

When Rose sent him the messaged, 'Friday's Diner, 8pm', he stared at the it and thought about it. He really did.

Something told Leonard that Rosalind and Jim were bound to meet. The problem was that they were made of the same charge, two magnets that couldn't meet. He watched as they entered and exited each other's spaces like they were on opposite ends of a revolving door. What was once amusing had now become frustrating.

Maybe it was time he came clean about a few things, starting with this one-sided game of catch.

Very few people realized that diners never changed. Their style, their personality, and the emotions they evoked remained the same. Friday's Shop had been passed down generation to generation and any changed was only made to improve it.

The neon lights washed those insides in a pink-purple hue. The barely lit interior gained had an air of intimacy. The patrons sat in blue leather booths with each table having a miniature jukeboxes that could play any song imaginable.

Rose scrolled through the endless catalogue, not searching for a specific song but a feeling.

"Here you are, darling." The pink-uniformed waiter settled the order in front of her: two coffees and blueberry waffles for her. "Waiting for a date?"

"It's not a date." There was a ding and right then Leonard entered and she signaled to him, "He's a friend."

The waiter looked over, "Oh, well have a nice time then. Want me to bring some more waffles?"

"Yes, please."

He winked as he left and Leonard took the seat opposite of her.

"Guess I'm right on time." He said eyeing the coffee.

"I wanted to come early and make sure _I_ was the one who paid for coffee."

"We can still go Dutch, y'know?"

"Ha! You wish."

Rose picked up the syrup and generously poured it over her pancakes. She cut the stack and pierced a piece she made sure had blueberries and whipped cream. Meanwhile, Leonard was sipping his coffee and trying to guess the name of the song that was playing. He was also trying to figure out how to introduce _him._

"Do you know who James Kirk is?" He decided to go straight for the jugular.

She didn't hesitate to answer, "I've heard about him."

"As much as you've heard about me?" He said trying to lighten the mood with humor.

"Maybe even more, actually."

"Then you know he's my friend, right?"

The song had kept going for a while more. The waiter brought the other set of waffles.

"Why are you asking so many questions? If you have a point then get to it."

"He's been looking for you." He waited for her to react and when she didn't he kept talking. "He's been asking me if you even exist and all I do is try and send him to some direction but you've done a good job at hiding yourself."

She smiled, "Thanks."

"That's not a compliment. Why are you hiding from him specifically? It's not like you came from out of nowhere. I at least saw your face before we even talked."

"He's James Kirk." She said curtly. "Not exactly the person I want to be around with."

"Because of the rumors? You know those aren't true." The things they had said about her were exhibit A and he was exhibit B.

"Not because of the rumors." She began shaking her head then changed to nodding, "Because of rumors."

"And you care about what people think?"

"I care about what they say to my face. People here are always trying to find out if you stand against them or with them. I could care less what they do with their popularity contest but I won't have James Kirk's reputation make the entire Academy think I've joined their stupid game. I don't need to add to the rumors by hanging around him."

" _I_ hang around him." Her eyes went wide at his defense of Jim, "And I hang around you, at least more than other people, and frankly he's the only other person I hang out with."

"So? I was the kid that had to choose between parents every Christmas and I turned out fine." She spit out sarcastically, her temper was beginning to simmer.

Leonard was caught a bit off-guard. That was the most personal she had gotten since they've met. Seeing her get even a tad angry was surprising too.

"You can't keep hiding." He said, softer after seeing her walls starting to go up. "If you want people to stop treating you that way you need to earn their respect or better yet: their fear."

"Only people who want to be Captain have that. I don't plan on being one any time soon."

"Yeah but bet it doesn't hurt to be treated like one."

She sighed and started to look outside, her face calculated to be impassive. There was a brief silence as Leonard let her turn the thought over on her head. Their coffees were refilled, he started to eat the second set of waffles before they became too cold. In the background, there was the light sizzling of food being prepared, clanking of plates being served and taken away. Light chatter floated in the air.

"Alright." Leonard almost didn't hear her say it. He almost sighed in relief. "Sounds like you have a plan so let's hear it."

It wasn't his plan but for now she had to believe it was for her to hear him out.

"You need to have someone in Command have your back."

"There are Captains from other divisions too."

"Yes, but within the Academy hierarchy is different. Command School trains their cadets for Captaincy earlier. At least for now."

"For now?"

"Jim keeps blabbing about doing some redecorating, saying the academy's gone stuck in the ol' ways."

"It has." She conceded.

Leonard smiled, "If you're already agreeing with him, you should meet him."

She shakes her head. "This is ridiculous." But she's also smiling.

"Ridiculous is having only two good friends in this stupid place and having them avoid each other."

She rolled her eyes. "So, this was about you then."

"Maybe but he's been persistent."

"Fine." She crossed her arms and leaned back. "I'll meet James Kirk."

"Finally." He sighed and scooted a bit revealing the blonde man sitting in the booth behind him.

Said blonde turned around and smiled, "So, you're joining my team?"

She half-smiled. Rosalind Davis had finally been caught by James Kirk.

* * *

 _This chapter's title song is provided by_ _Florence + the Machine_ _._

 _Now the main story can kick in. It's probably gonna take me another month though…_ _(You can keep track of my progress in my profile.)_

 _Thank you to all of you who have followed me so early! I didn't expect to have any until the fifth chapter went up. It's made me take this more seriously and make sure I give you all fanfiction worth waiting for and reading._

 _Loves,_

– **B.B.**


	4. A Note

This will be deleted in the future.

Hello. I haven't updated in two months now. The reason for that is that I live in Puerto Rico and was without power or any type of communication for almost a month in a half. Though physically I'm unharmed many things in my life had to change. I don't want to get into the details but only that I'm better now and have some semblance of normalty. Fortunately, I've received as much help as I need.

In terms of Beneath Perfection: I don't know if I will be able to continue this story from where I left off since many of the things I planned for this story are now lost. There's also the fact that other priorities have taken place over writing. So, hopefully, I'll be able to continue to write 'Beneath Perfection' soon.

If you can, please donate money to community leaders in the Puerto Rican or to family members who will be able to send it to their family in the island. FEMA and the Red Cross tend to confiscate food and then redistribute it at a slower pace and may not include the specific dietary needs of a family. Personally, I have too much ramen and tuna and though I'm grateful to have food at all I know that I could have distributed the money towards other foods too. Other families are in the same situation, they receive the same food over and over while having lacking others, canned vegetables for example.


End file.
